On Saturday, stores were packed and residents in the region were preparing for a whollop of a storm expected to begin today and go through Tuesday, with the National Weather Service predicting winds of up to 44 mph while inches of rain are dumped on the area.

The White House was mobilizing its emergency staff as the hurricane moved up the coast.

"This is a large storm that is forecasted to impact the Mid-Atlantic and other parts of the East Coast with strong winds, coastal flooding, inland flooding, rain and snow," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said. "People should be ready for the possibility of power outages paired with cold temperatures. Now is the time to prepare -- review your emergency plans, check your supplies and stay informed."

Residents are recommended to have emergency kits that include a gallon of water per person per day, a three-day supply of non-perishable food, a battery-powered radio and a NOAA weather radio; a flashlight and extra batteries and a First Aid kit.

Down at the docks, the boats were making it to ground.

"Everybody's trying to get everything out," said Al Luongo, the West End's board chairman. "It's a little hectic. Everybody's working together."

But, the impending hurricane was only half the challenge for getting the boats out.

"We're just trying to get every boat out of the water while there's tide," club member Bill Heiden said as he worked the trailer dock at the club.

He explained that the boats can only be pulled during the high tide, which ended early afternoon Saturday.

He started his day at 7 a.m. in Port Norris along the Delaware Bay to pull his 25-feet Grady White out so he could help others at the West End the rest of the day.

"It should be pretty impressive," Heiden said of Sandy before returning to the ramp. "Who's next?"

Ron Wiernicki and his son, Ron Jr., drove to Cape May on Friday night to get their 34-feet hydrasport, Reel Therapy.

"We heard that there's going to be excessive high winds down there," Wiernicki said as his son power washed the boat in West End's lot. "Besides, Jersey is going to be a brunt of it. We actually wanted to get it up on land."

Last year, he said some of the finger pylons were floating at the New Jersey marina where he keeps his boat, so he wanted to make certain Reel Therapy was grounded.

June Ciantrana and her husband, Gene, had scheduled to have their 28-feet Monterey power boat cabin cruiser XFMR II taken out of the water Saturday even before Sandy's threats made their way here.

"This wasn't a panic pull," she said.

However, having encountered high winds in a previous storm in Chesapeake Bay, she added, "It's still a relief to get it out."

Ciantrana was grateful for the ready helpfulness of the club members.

Once the boat was placed in its spot, there were about 10 men who converged on their pick-up truck to get the metal supports and wood blocks to secure the boat.

"It was like a swarm of honey bees on the honeycomb," she said. "Everybody helps here. The teamwork here really is so great. It's just amazing."

Over at the Ridley Township Municipal Marina, manager Denise Farber said all 200 customers of the marina had been notified either by telephone or email to make every effort to remove their boats from the marina in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy.

"We are pulling every boat out of the marina that we can and we are asking people to evacuate the marina, both the dry storage area and the wet slips," she said. "If we have flooding in the dry storage area, we'll have boats moving all around in the water."

She said the marina staff removed the books and computers from the office as a precaution, as well.

Bob Taylor was getting assistance from Lou DiCampli in moving his smaller boat "Trust Me" out of the marina, but his 40-feet Victoria's Secret was staying put.

"I don't have a choice," Taylor said, explaining there was no lift available. "I've ridden out a couple of storms before. I think she'll handle it."

With a plan to disconnect the power cords and triple tie the lines, he said he thought that should keep it secure.

DiCampli summed up what some others may have been thinking as the storm makes its way to Delaware County.

As he helped remove Trust Me up the ramp, he shared his approach to Sandy.